Clothes washer



Nov. 3, 1942. N. H. HENDERSON 2,300,421

CLOTHES WASHER Filed April 15, 71939 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR;

Nov. 3, 1942. HENDERSON 2,300,421

v CLOTHES WASHER Filed April 15, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Nov. 3, 1942. H. HENDERSON CLOTHES WASHER Filed April 13, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 3, 1942 CLOTHES WASHER Nelson H. Henderson, Syracuse, N. Y. Application April 13, 1939, Serial No. 267,575

9 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes washing machines and is particularly adapted to such machines as can be operated automatically, that is such machines as can be made to complete the successive operations of washing, drying and rinsing without attention of the operator.

It is an object of this invention to carry on the washing and drying operations in the same receptacle or tub and to do this without transmitting excessive vibrations to the outside covering or cabinet covering the machine or to the floor on which the machine rests.

In order to do this it is necessary to mount the rotating unit of the machine in a flexible manner or so that the axis of gyration of this unit is free to set itself at any small angle to its stationary position. The driving motor is fastened to the gear case and the unit so formed is flexibly mounted and arranged to support the retating tub so that all three will at all times have a common axis of gyration. The supporting point on this unit is placed near or above the center of gravity and thus has a counter balancing or dampening effect on vibrations of the unit.

due to the unbalanced load in the tub which will tend when the tub spins to give it an eccentric movement about its stationary axis, such movement at high speed becoming a vibration; The springs supporting the gear case are bent in such form a to give flexibility in both a horizontal and vertical plane and the ends supporting the washing unit are equipped with rubber bushings.

When the material of a body is arranged symmetrically about its geometric axis, the body can be made to spin smoothly about this axis and each particle of its mass will have a circular path. If, however, an unbalanced weight is added, such as takes place when part of the clothing is placed on one side of a spinning tub, the body will no longer spin about its geometric axis. A new axis called an axis of gyration arranges itself at the center and any particular point on the outside surface of the body will now follow an elliptical path. If the body is supported at points upon its outside surface, the supports must have a. vibratory motion. Should these supports be attached slightly above or near the center of the axis so that the axis itself stands above and below, the point of support becomes a so-called node of vibration and the vibration of the body now acts similar to a vibrating string when such is held near its center and the two ends are free to vibrate. 7 Such a method of supporting a spinning object has been used in the past in the manufacture of centrifugaldryers but no mechanism has been incorporated in same so as to operate anagitator. This invention presents such a novel mechanism to give the desirable result.

The gear arrangement whereby the reciprocating movement of the washing member graduallychanges to spinning of the tub is a novel feature. The method of support applied at the node of vibration and combined with the rubber bushings and flat springs bent near their middle point to approximately degrees allows tipping of the axis of the gear case with at the same time a minimum of lateral freedom.-

The horizontal portion of these fiat springs give a limber support to the gear case thus enabling it to change its elevation and to be readily sensitive to any small change in the weight of the supported tub. This change in elevation of the tub is used to advantage in marking the proper point at which to start the washin operation.

The system of wiring to give the sequence of operations necessary for washing as described is different and much simpler than any before shown.

In the gear case itself th mechanism'which operates to drive the basket at first by friction only and later, as the speed increases a certain amount, by the use of centrifugal force acting on certain spinning parts to aid also in driving the basket is believed to be new.

The use of a brake ring, as shown, to hold the gear frame stationary and thus give the agitator its proper motion through the center shaft is also believed to be an improved feature.

Considerable trouble has been experienced in the spinning of a circular tub due to waves of air accumulating between it and its surroundingcabinet and it is found that the use of a rectangular cabinet as shown eliminates this trouble.

The supporting springs carried down to the base as shown allow the cabinet walls to be made of light material and forms an additional new feature.

I improve upon the construction heretofore developed in several ways. The use of the so-called planetary gear mechanism to change the transmitted motion selectively from oscillations tosimple rotations is made in this case to oscillate a central agitator for washing and when desired planetary gear unit is used to help pick up the spinning load as the speed increases. Thus it helps the friction drive to carry the load of spinning by acting as a centrifugal clutch. This feature is necessary with automatic operation because the washing must stop and the spinning operation commence without attention of the operator and with the least possible vibration or shock.

I further improve upon the constructions heretofore developed by providing a simple method of controlling the water supply to the tub for both washing and rinsing operations, thereby eliminating float mechanism which is not practical for a 'flexibly mounted tub.

I further improve upon the system of electric control in order to have as few as possible electric circuits for controlling the various operations.

The gear case is designed to take up as little space as possible, to be statically and dynamically balanced and to carry the motor attached to it in a central position and as low down as possible. In such a position the weight .of the motor as it is displaced by the unbalanced load of the tub will act as a dampener for the vibration of the axis of the machine due' to its greater distance from the point of support.

This combination of my method of controlling the vibrations together with the gear change features possible with the planetary gear mechanism as hereafter described together with the method of controlling the water level in the tub makes possible automatic operation in a simple and efficient manner. The use of flat spring supports fastened to the gear case with rubber bushings at the top allows the axis of gyration to take a position either parallel to the stationary axis or incline to it as the conditions demand.

The nature of this invention, together with the objects thereof, and the advantages to be derived therefrom will appear in the course of the following description of a preferred embodiment which is illustrated in the drawings forming part of this specification.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 361,324, filed October 15, 1940, I describe and claim the system of planetary gearing here shown but not claimed, and which gearing acts to transmit alternately to one driven member, such as the agitator, reciprocating motion, and to a sec-- ond driven member, such as the container, a rotary motion.

In this-co-pending application, I claim novel means for driving the container which means combines both frictional elements and positive means brought into action when the gear mechanism spins, together with the new features such as an axially displaced brake'rin acting to drive the agitator.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the washer cabinet on line l| of Figure 2 showing the inside parts in elevation.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 220f Figure 1 showing a top view of the gear case and the springs which support it.

Figure 3 is a section on a larger scale of the gear case as taken on line 33 of Figure 4 and with the cover of the inside or planetary gear case removed.

Figure 4 is a view partly in section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3. v

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of the clock and its contacts together with the wiring which ably made of sheet metal and which supports flat springs 2 which in turn support the gear case 3 from which depends the motor 4.

A rectangular cabinet 5 is also supported from the base and has a cover 6 on the top through which the clothes are placed and removed. The tub is indicated at I.

Near the bottom and below the tub is a partition 8 having a hole at the center and designed to receive overflow from the tub. The tub I has sloping sides so that when it spins the water will rise and discharge through openings 9 against the inside of the cabinet wall from whence it falls into the pocket formed by partition 8 and then flows into the pump inlet Ill. The pump is indicated at H. The outlet I! of the pump can be arranged to deliver the waste water into a sink or to some other waste connection.

The agitator I3 is similar to others well known in the art and washes in the same general way. At I4 is shown a water supply valve controlled by a solenoid from which valve water flows into the top of the tub through pipe IS.

A switch I6 is arranged below the motor with an operating lever I! so that as the tub fills the extra weight deflects the springs 2 and the motor operates to contact the lever and operate the switch.

The gear case 3 contains a train of gears and a planetary support l8, which holds part of them, together with a segment H! which segment is arranged to impart oscillations to the center post 20 which in turn drives the agitator for washing. The planetary support 18 supports the tub by means of hollow shaft 44 and is in turn supported first While spinning 'by the gear 2| and second while stationary by the brake ring 22. The shaft 23 is driven from the motor through a belt to operate spiral gear 24 which meshes with spiral gear 2| which in turn carries a, pinion 25. The pinion 25 meshes with the idler gear 26 which carries as part of itself the pinion 21 which in turn meshes with and operates gear 28. This latter gear connects with segment I 9 through the connecting rod 28. The segment l9 meshes with the pinion 42 which is fastened to the agi tator shaft. The brake ring 22 extends all the way around beneath the planetary support and rides in a circular path upon three or more inclined supports, one only being shown, and is actuated by a piston rod 3| which is in turn connected to and controlled by the piston 32 which operates by hydraulic pressure in cylinder 33. The inclined support is indicated at 30 and isfurnished with a circular guide as shown at right in Fig. 4, so that the brake ring is confined in a circular working path. The pressure in the hydraulic cylinder is controlled by a three-way solenoid valve 34 which has an inlet 35 a flexible outlet connection 36 which connects to the hydraulic cylinder and also is supplied with a vent 31.

At 38 in Figure 5 is shown a diagram of the contacts of the clock which produces automatic operation. The symbols 39 and 40 indicate the main motor of the washer and the clock motor respectively. The diagram of the clock is shown as divided into intervals and the contacts in the drawing are shown as being in the starting or filling position. Clock intervals are indicated by letters beginning with A and ending with X. Springs 2 carry the gear case through rubber bushings 43.

The automatic operation takes place as follows:

The operator first turns the clock indicator which carries with it the contacts to a position which is indicated in the drawing. Under this condition the solenoid valve l4 will be energized to open the water supply and fill the tub-through pipe l5. The solenoid valve 34 which supplies the piston 33 has also been energized and the brake ring 22 has thereby been revolved upon its inclined supports into its highest position so that the planetary support I8 is raised and held stationary away from the face of the gear 2| which gear retains its lowest position because of pressure of spring 4 I.

The motors during this interval are not in operation. When the tub is nearly full, the tub, the gearcase, and the main motor are lowered due to the increased weight on the supporting springs until such a time as the motor presses down on lever ll thus turning on the switch I6 to start both motors. The washing now begins and the gear train operates to oscillate the agitator in the tub. The clock also is advanced by the operation of its own motor into some position such as B which breaks the connection to the water supply valve l4 and shuts off the water inlet. The contacts of the clock may also be made to operate the motors as shown through the clock itself.

Washing now takes place in the tub until the end of interval P is reached at which time the solenoid valve 34 is de-energized. The pressure in piston 33 is relieved through vent 31 and the spring 38 pushes the piston back to the end of its stroke as shown in Figure 3 and the brake ring revolves again to its lowest position allowing the planetary support l8 to bear directly upon the top surface of revolving gear 2|. By friction the planetary support now begins to revolve slowly turning with it the tub I which, due .to centrifugal forc'e, begins to discharge the wash water through openings 9. As the tub becomes lighter the speed increases and the connectingrod 29 together with other reciprocating parts in the gear case tend to hold stationary in their outermost positions due to centrifugal force and as the speed is further increased this force becomes greater and greater until at last the oscillation ceases and the agitator in the tub is driven at the same speed as the tub itself which in this case is about 600 R. P. M. Near the mid point of the connecting rod 29 is shown an enlargement which is a weight that when acted upon by centrifugal force, as the gear train revolves, is thrown as far as possible from the center of rotation. As the speed increases this force is finally great enough to prevent movement of the segment and agitator altogether. At this point the tub takes on the same speed as the sun gear 2|. The sector [3 is held stationary and revolves in the gear case at the same speed as the tub and no oscillations of the agitator take place. Since the idler gear 26 can not rotate with relation to the gear case it becomes simply an arm attached to the gear 25 and moves about it at the same speed as the gear case.

At the end of interval Q the water has all been discharged from the tub and the solenoid I4 is again energized to flush the revolving clothes with fresh water. At end of interval R the solenoid 34 is again energized to raise the brake ring 22 and stop the revolution of the tub. The motors are also stopped at this time by the clock contact being broken but water continues to flow into the tub until it is nearly full at which time the motors are again started through switch l5 as before and again the agitation starts, the clock advances on its cycle and the water supply is shut off.

The clock now advances by the operation of its own motor until it reaches the end of interval U at which time the solenoid 34 releases piston 32 and the planetary support starts to spin by friction against the gear 2| as before.

When the water has been spun out of the clothes another short fiush rinse may be given, if desired, and as it is shown on this clock diagram at interval W, after which the spinning of the basket drives out all surplus water and the basket comes to rest in interval X and all connections to the clock are broken. When the clothes are removed the operator starts another washing cycle if desired by simply turning the clock dial to the interval A as shown. Many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art but I do not desire therefore to be restricted to the specific showing and description here made.

What I claim is:

1. In a clothes washer, a base, a washing unit arranged on a vertical axis and consisting of a tub,'a concentric agitator in the tub, a gear case gear-case, and a plurality of springs erected from the base, deflected inwardly at their upper ends and affording the sole support from the base for the gear-case, tub and motor.

3. In a clothes washer, a base, a washing unit arranged on a vertical axis and consisting of a tub, a concentric agitator in the tub, a gear case beneath the tub and a motor attached to the gear case, a plurality of fiat springs, the washing unit resiliently and yieldingly mounted upon the upper ends of the fiat springs which latter are connected to the base at one end and to the gear case at the other end, a portion of each spring lying in a plane approximately parallel to the-vertical axis and a portion arranged in a plane approximately parallel with the base.

4. In a clothes washer, a tub in which clothes arewashed and dried, means whereby the washing-function may be performed, means for supporting the tub resiliently, such means consisting of springs which allow the tub to take a lower position when full than when empty, a motor for driving the washer, and anelectric switch operated by the tub to turn on the motor when the tub takes its lowest position.

5. In a clothes washer, a tub forholding the clothes, a concentric oscillatory washing member within the tub, means for spinning the tub, mechanism for alternately oscillating the washing member and for spinning the tub, a clock arranged to control said mechanism, means for supplying the tub with water, resilient supporting means connected with the tub acting to give the tub a lower position when full than empty, mechanism between the tub and the clock acting to start the clock when the tub reaches its lowest position.

6. In a clothes washer, a tub for holding thev clothes, means whereby the washing function may be performed, a, clock for controlling a cycle of washing operations, a valve for supplying'water to the tub, yieldingly supporting means acting to give the tub a lower position when full than when empty, mechanism comprising an electric circuit located between the tub and the clock acting to start the clock when the tub reaches its lowest position and closes the circuit, means between the water valve and the clock operating to shut off the water when the clock has passed through part of the washing cycle.

7. In a clothes washer, a resiliently supported container for the clothes, which resiliently supported container is capable of upward and down ward movement, a concentric agitator, a motor operating to oscillate the agitator and to spin the container, a clock arranged to control a consecutive cycle of operations for oscillating the agiator and for spinning the container, a motor to actuate the clock, an inlet water supply valve,

frictional means to prevent spinning of the tub, an electrically controlled hydraulic valve controlling the frictional means, an electric circuit connecting the motors, valve and clock, electric contacts in the clock operating to control .both motors and both valves through a cycle of washing and spinning operations and a switch in the circuit and locatedv in the direct downward path of the container, said switch being actuated by a displacement of the container to start the motors and the washing cycle when the container is filled.

8. In a clothes Washing and drying machine, a motor for driving the machine, a container arranged to spin on a-vertical axis and to have axial movement thereon, means whereby the washing function may be performed, a motorized clock arranged to control through electric connections the driving motor, a system of electric wiring connecting both the clock and the motor with the source of power whereby two circuits are arranged to supply power to the motor and the clock, one circuit being completed by contacts within the clock itself and the other circuit being completed by a switch actuated by the axial movement of the container.

9. In a clothes washer, a base, a rotatable tub for holding clothes and the washing liquid, formed to permit discharge of the washing liquid therefrom by centrifugal force when it rotates, a gear case supporting the tub and located above the base and below the tub on the same axis and supporting means therefore including supporting devices located at spaced points circumferentially of the gear case, said devices comprising yieldable and flexible elements permitting angular freedom of the axis and limiting the lateral movement thereof to a very small amount, said devices attached to the top of the gear case through rubber bushings at one end and to the base below the gear case at the other end.

NELSON H. HENDERSON. 

